Local Tv`s Oasis For Risk-takers

December 30, 1988|By Rick Kogan.

It isn`t always good, but it is always interesting and exciting and generally full of surprises. It stands apart from the safe-and-sorry state of most locally produced shows like a palm tree on an iceberg.

It is ``Image Union,`` that weekly feast of the risky, celebrating its 10th year on the air with a special 2 1/2-hour show at 10 p.m. Saturday on WTTW-Ch. 11.

Produced by Tom Weinberg and Jamie Ceasar, ``Image Union`` was born a decade ago out of the frustration a lot of local videomakers felt about their inability to get their work on local airwaves. ``Image Union`` gave them that chance and, in its quiet way, has helped influence-but not enough, its producers would tell you-local television.

This New Year`s Eve special, hosted by Donna Blue Lachman, will be filled with 30 to 40 ``best-of`` bits, some music and a few surprises. One of the highlights will be a music video created especially for the charming and whimsical symbol of the show, the cartoon man named Bob. It`s called ``This Is Your Life, Bob`` and was created by Roger Bain. Miss it and you`ll miss one of the gems of this prairie.

ROCK MAGIC

Come with me now as I introduce you to the ghosts of rock `n` roll past on ``Rock `N` Roll`s Magic Moments,`` 9 p.m. Saturday on WFLD-Ch. 32. But be brave, some of them aren`t pretty.

Hosted by Wolfman Jack, this musical bash is framed by a visit by two kids to a record store/radio station run by the Wolfman. It`s a clever idea never given enough time, as the children go through a mysterious door and enter a room where, presumably, a concert is in full swing.

And what a concert: a parade of artists and tunes that one can now find only as the stuff of late-night commercials. Here is Has-Been Heaven: Del Shannon, Little Anthony, Ben E. King, the Coasters, the Dixie Cups and Lou Christie. Only King and Shannon emerge with dignity; Christie is especially distasteful, his voice almost shot and his coiffure the work of a hairdresser on acid.

The show, shot at the Holiday Star Theater in Merrillville, Ind., does contain some visually exciting concert footage and a delightful appearance by those local doo-wop marvels Stormy Weather. But ``Rock `N` Roll`s Magic Moments`` goes a long way to convince me that musical memories are best left on vinyl.

THE SIROTT WATCH

Further fueling speculation, which I think I started a couple of weeks ago, that he will soon return to WBBM-Ch. 2 after a relatively reluctant interlude with the CBS news magazine ``West 57th Street,`` Bob Sirott will host his once (and future?) station`s 30-minute New Year`s Eve show,

Generally, these sort of yearly endeavors are a mess of mugging and technical mayhem, but Sirott is quite capable of pulling it off, as the show visits a ``bowling party`` bash in Berwyn, a black-tie Astor Street affair and Traffic Jam, a raucous River North nightclub.

ABC AT LAMBS

More than 20 years ago we went to buy a dog-we called him Charlie-at a place called the Lambs. It was a small pet store on State Street, opened in 1961 by two good-hearted folks named Bob Therese and Corinne Owen who wanted to give meaningful work to mentally retarded people.

They were amazingly successful and now the Lambs Farm is a thriving 60-acre community an hour north of the city. It becomes the focus of national attention, as well, at 9 p.m. Friday when ABC`s ``20/20`` and reporter Lynn Sherr visit for an in-depth look at the miracle of the Lambs.